INTERNATIONAL. In my “Net Assessment of the World,” I argued that four major segments of the European and Asian landmass were in crisis: Europe, Russia, the Middle East (from the Levant to Iran) and China. Each crisis was different; each was at a different stage of development. Collectively the crises threatened to destabilize the Eurasian landmass, the Eastern Hemisphere, and potentially generate a global crisis. They do […]
JIDDA, Saudi Arabia — Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter gave a surprisingly upbeat assessment on Wednesday of American relations with Saudi Arabia, asserting that the kingdom welcomed the international nuclear deal reached with its regional rival, Iran. Mr. Carter, who visited Jidda and held his first meeting with King Salman, also said the Saudi monarch would visit the United States this fall and is committed to fighting […]
JIDDA, Saudi Arabia — Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter gave a surprisingly upbeat assessment on Wednesday of American relations with Saudi Arabia, asserting that the kingdom welcomed the international nuclear deal reached with its regional rival, Iran. Mr. Carter, who visited Jidda and held his first meeting with King Salman, also said the Saudi monarch would visit the United States this fall and is committed to fighting […]
Yemeni president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi praised the stance of the UAE and its support for his country during a meeting on Monday with the UAE ambassador. Salem Al Ghafli, the UAE Ambassador to Yemen, conveyed the greetings of President Sheikh Khalifa and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, for Eid Al Fitr as well as the liberation of Aden from the Houthis and […]
HUSSEIN LOOKOUT, Israel — The Obama administration opened its Middle East reassurance tour on Monday with the secretary of defense, Ashton B. Carter, promising Israeli officials that the United States would remain vigilant in trying to combat what he called “Iran’s malign influence” in the region despite the nuclear deal struck last week among Tehran and six world powers. To make his point, Mr. Carter let Israeli […]
WASHINGTON — The Islamic State’s reclusive leader has empowered his inner circle of deputies as well as regional commanders in Syria and Iraq with wide-ranging authority, a plan to ensure that if he or other top figures are killed, the organization will quickly adapt and continue fighting, American and Iraqi intelligence officials say. The officials say the leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, delegates authority to his cabinet, or […]
AL MUKALLA, Yemen — Houthi rebel fighters fired rockets toward the southern city of Aden on Sunday, killing at least 43 people in a residential neighborhood, health and military officials said. The attack came two days after the exiled Yemeni government, which is supported by Saudi Arabia and opposes the Houthis, declared that Aden had been “liberated” after the Houthis and their allies were driven from several […]
|By TAP Staff| With the nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers complete, American business interests are looking for opportunities. But before all the sanctions are lifted, U.S. and global businesses will have to clear plenty of hurdles before they begin investing in and selling to Iran, Voice of America said. The agreement, which puts strict limits on Iran’s nuclear development for 10 years, calls for […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The security forces in Saudi Arabia have carried out a nationwide dragnet in recent months that resulted in the arrest of more than 400 people believed to be connected to the Islamic State jihadist group, the Saudi Interior Ministry said on Saturday. The people who were arrested were linked to recent attacks inside the kingdom; they planned attacks or monitored potential targets, or used […]
ABU DHABI // It has gone so fast – and so far, so good. It’s already the third anniversary of work starting on the UAE’s first nuclear power plant at Barakah, near the border with Saudi Arabia. And it is still on budget and set to go live in late 2017, ultimately providing a quarter of the Emirates’ energy needs. But becoming the first new member to […]
TEHRAN — Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, voiced support on Saturday for his country’s nuclear deal with world powers while emphasizing that it did not signal an end to Iran’s hostility toward the United States and its allies, especially Israel. “Their actions in the region are 180 degrees different from ours,” he said. Speaking after a special prayer marking the end of the Muslim […]
|By TAP Staff| The Saudi stock market, the largest market in the GCC with a total market capitalisation of approximately$550 billion, is drawing interest from a large number of potential foreign investors. The Saudi Stock Exchange opened to qualified foreign investors (QFI) for the first time one month ago. Increased participation from international financial institutions is primarily designed to help enhance the sophistication and stability of the […]
UAE. Retailers in the UAE experience some of the best conditions in the world in which to operate in, benefitting from a strong quality of infrastructure and a robust economic environment, says Arcadis in its Retail Operation Index. The UAE ranks eighth place in the overall rankings and first place in the Middle East, while quality of transportation and ease of getting up-and-running is holding many other […]
ABU DHABI // In less than 30 minutes on Thursday, the hashtag #Signs_of_victory_from_Aden was tweeted more than 18 million times. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed said on Twitter: “#Signs_of_victory_from_Aden comes in these blessed days thanks first to the Lord and then to the Saudi-led Arab coalition and the heroic Yemeni fighters.” The Minister of Foreign Affairs’ message was retweeted 7,347 times. * The National staff This entry passed […]
ABU DHABI // A UAE serviceman died while “performing his national duty” with Saudi-led coalition forces, state news agency Wam announced on Thursday. Lt Abdul Aziz Sarhan Saleh Al Ka’abi was killed while participating in Operation Restoring Hope, in support of the internationally-recognised Yemen government of president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi, said the UAE General Command of the Armed Forces. Prayers over the body of Lt Al Ka’abi […]
Anti-Houthi militiamen on Tuesday at the entrance to Aden’s international airport, which they recaptured from Shiite Houthi rebels. By SAEED AL-BATATI and KAREEM FAHIM July 14, 2015 AL MUKALLA, Yemen — Southern fighters battling Houthi rebels seized control of the international airport in Yemen’s port city of Aden on Tuesday, dealing the Houthis their most significant defeat in the city since they stormed it more than three months ago, witnesses and […]
Video | Accord is ‘Bad Mistake,’ Netanyahu Says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said the nuclear agreement would enable Iran to continue its “aggression and terror” throughout the region. By ISABEL KERSHNER July 14, 2015 JERUSALEM — Furiously denouncing the accord to limit Iran’s nuclear program on Tuesday as “a historic mistake,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would not be bound by the agreement and warned […]
|By TAP Staff| The end of sanctions could bring a rapid economic boom Iran, which had its oil exports halved by sanctions, and its economy cut by about 20 percent. The prospect of a deal has already helped push down global oil prices because of the possibility that Iranian supply could return to the market. Oil prices tumbled more than a dollar on Tuesday after the deal […]
Shiite fighters launched a rocket on Sunday toward Islamic State militants from the outskirts of Fallujah, in Anbar Province, Iraq. By OMAR AL-JAWOSHY and ANNE BARNARD July 13, 2015 BAGHDAD — The Iraqi government declared on Monday that it was beginning a major military operation to retake the western province of Anbar from the Islamic State, which occupies much of the area including its major cities, Ramadi and Falluja. It was […]
Iranian stocks climbed to the highest level in three months as diplomats from the Persian Gulf country and six negotiating powers moved closer to reaching a nuclear accord. The Tehran Stock Exchange’s benchmark index advanced 1.2 percent on Sunday to 67,646.4, the highest level since April 15, as officials sought to clinch a deal that would help lift sanctions crippling Iran’s economy. Bank Saderat Iran was the […]
Rulers and ministers from the UAE have attended the funeral of Prince Saud Al Faisal, who served as foreign minister of Saudi Arabia for four decades. Prince Saud’s body arrived on Saturday morning at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah from the US, where he died on Thursday aged 75. His body was taken to Al Adel Cemetery in Mecca. A delegation including Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, […]
By SAEED AL-BATATI and KAREEM FAHIM July 11, 2015 AL MUKALLA, Yemen — A cease-fire brokered by the United Nations that was intended to allow the delivery of relief supplies failed to take hold in Yemen on Saturday, as a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes, and fighting continued between the Houthis rebels and rival militias in several cities. The “pause” in the fighting had been scheduled to […]
UAE. Private sector businesses in Dubai signalled further strong increases in business activity and new orders in June, though the rates of expansion moderated to 27- and 53-month lows, respectively. Despite softer increases in activity and new work, Dubai private sector companies were increasingly optimistic towards the year-ahead, with the degree of positive sentiment reaching a 19-month high. Furthermore, increased confidence towards the business outlook underpinned the […]
Oil prices may fall further as the world remains “massively oversupplied,” before markets tighten in 2016 when output growth outside OPEC grinds to a halt, according to the International Energy Agency. There will be no overall production growth outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries next year for the first time since 2008, according to the IEA. Growth in U.S. shale oil supplies will stagnate to the […]
